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Sunday, March 27, 2011

ferment with me

Okay. Maybe the post title is a little deceiving. Only two of these products are truly fermenting (from the left: our own maple syrup, lacto-fermented dilly carrots, sauerkraut with caraway and mustard seeds, pickled turnips and beets, pickled turnips with cumin and paprika).

For the past few years, my husband and I have been members at a nearby CSA. Our CSA has summer shares and winter shares, and we've done both for a while now. The winter shares for us are primarily preserved root crops (that were harvested in the fall and then put into cold storage), but also some greens that were still in the fields (did you know that you can harvest kale even when it covered with snow?) and some others (spinach, salad greens) in passive greenhouses. Anyway, the winter CSA just ended, but I had an abundance of gold ball turnips, daikon, beets, and celeriac.

This resulted in some uh, exciting projects including a batch of celeriac fries that boiled over and started a grease fire that reached past the hood over our stove. Surprisingly, nothing was damaged and no one was hurt (including the fries) thanks to some baking soda for the fire and a larger pot for the fries. The celeriac fries were surprisingly sweet and not dissimilar in texture from sweet potato fries.

As to why I picked up so many turnips at the CSA, I'm not really sure. I've never liked turnips very much, so I decided to grab a bunch and try pickling then to see if I would like them that way. So far I've only tasted the ones with the beets (which have taken on their vibrant pink hue), but they're pleasant, not oppressively turnipy, and taste, well, pickled.

Sort of at a standstill with the whole work thing. I need to get a doctor's note before I can come back yet again, so tomorrow I guess I'll figure that out. I've been thinking that if I really can't figure out a schedule that works in the fall (i.e. daytime job and a daytime class) that maybe I will just stop working. I think that if I stopped working but my husband didn't, we'd be just poor enough for state-subsidized family health insurance. Money would be tight, as it is now, but life would probably be more pleasant. Plus, I'd have more time to cook (and make beer).

7 comments:

Wow - The canned goods look spectacular! Very impressive! And I do hope you make the right decision for you concerning work/school/cooking and brewing balance. :) Best of luck and YUM!Cheers,Headstrong

Headstrong: I think I gave up on the "right" decision stuff a long time ago. My life is starting to feel like a choose your own adventure book, though.

RS - The CSA is so great. They have you-pick flowers and berries during the summer, too. I don't know what I'll do when I'm in school full-time, it's definitely a little more time consuming to prep some of this stuff versus pre-washed salad out of a box.

As for the beer (and having time for beer), come on, it's seriously important. I mean, why shouldn't I know how to brew beer? That sounds like some kind of basic life skill... and...well, at the rate my husband likes to drink it, probably a frugal investment.

XY - Hope you're feeling better. What kind of beer are you planning on brewing? The local brewery near us sells some ingredient kits (i.e. oatmeal stout, not your mama's IPA, whatever). I think I might try one of those first. Seems sort of foolproof.

Wow, I would love some of that subsidized insurance with my beets. :-P My state, Washington, decided to stop offering it to newbies and to double the monthly payment for existing patrons. I've been on the wait list for over a year, but it looks like they might tear the program apart instead of re-opening it. :-)

About Me

I'm 26, a mother, and debating what to do next! As an undergrad at Oberlin I studied what I loved: classical singing. My fascination with the physiology behind singing and the natural intelligence of the human body fueled my growing interest in medicine. Convinced I wanted to go to medical school, I applied for post-bac pre-med programs, got in a couple times, and ended up not going a couple times! Now I'm developing medical software at the hospital where I work and taking a step back. This blog is about my work, educational and personal experiences (and disasters) in healthcare.

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elspeth.greene@gmail.com

Quoted

"Understanding is a kind of ecstacy."

-Carl Sagan, Broca's Brain

"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars..."

-Jack Kerouac, On the Road

Disclaimer

In case it isn't obvious, this blog not medical advice. All stories involving patients have been grossly altered to protect patient confidentiality. Autobiographical posts have not been altered (with the exception of names).

before I die

I want to learn to fiddle, try Bikram yoga, sing in a band, run a marathon, brew beer, get into medical school, grow romanesco, become a physician, publish something, kayak on our lake, plant an orchard, start performing classically again, drive a manual truck, learn to play the mandolin, make sturm, take a neuropharmacology class, and procure my own firewood by being badass with a chainsaw.